More on that 4-beard turkey arrowed in Onondaga County

Last spring Antonio Paduano, of Fayetteville, a longtime bowhunter for deer, set up a trail camera on property he hunts in Onondaga County.

His camera snapped photos of a flock of wild turkeys — including one that had four beards.

“I had gotten laid off from work. I had the time. I decided to go after him,” the Fayetteville resident said.

On opening day of turkey season, he took along his favorite bow, got into his tree stand and waited.

“At about 11:30 a.m. I gave a sexy hen call, a little purr — and 10 minutes late it came down the path. It was a surreal moment,” he said. “I hit it with a perfect broadside shot at about 25 yards. As soon as I heard the arrow hit, I knew it was perfect. ... like when a baseball player hits a home run. You just know it.”

Wayne Masters, of Tully, a local turkey hunting guide who has hunted the birds for more than 40 years, said he’s heard about, but never seen, a turkey with four beards. It’s unusual, he said.

Another guide, Mike Joyner, of McGraw, said the National Wild Turkey Federation has a listing of the largest turkeys taken in the state. He noted that some have had as many as seven or eight beards, a characteristic that gives them more points in the total score that the rankings are based on.

Paduano, thinking he might have had some kind of state record of taking a four-bearded turkey with a bow, talked to local officials from the Turkey Federation. He found out his 18-pound bird didn’t make the grade.

He sent the carcass to a taxidermist in Pennsylvania and got the mount back several weeks ago.